Another adventure at Fox Glacier

For the adventurous, the Fox Glacier heli-hike. For the not-so-adventurous, The Plateau Cafe & Bar. Wait, what am I saying?! Under no circumstances whatsoever should you miss The Plateau Cafe & Bar's prodigious chef. Even if you don't like mountains, glaciers, hiking, or helicopters, go to Fox Glacier, just to eat at The Plateau Cafe & Bar. No, they didn't pay me to write this.

The Plateau Cafe & Bar has the best food I've ever eaten anywhere, and that IS saying something. I've eaten everywhere from Taco Cabana to the Ritz Carlton, and the Ritz "ain't got nuthin'" on the Plateau.

Being the foodie that I am, I will do my best to describe our meal, though I'm sure I won't be able to do it justice. It's one of those you've-got-to-eat-it-to-believe-it things. Melanie and I started with the kumara (sweet potato) chips. They were the best sweet potato chips either of us had ever tasted: Goldenly-crispy almost carmelized on the outside; moist, bursting with flavor, baked to perfection on the inside; and drizzled with a delicate honey mustard sauce that was meant to be married to this potato. Truly a coup in chefdom. Melanie and I did not eat kumara chips again after this for the rest of our stay in New Zealand - we'd been spoiled.

For our mains, we shared two dishes: The Thai red curry chicken and a special of the day - a honey-soy chicken salad. The Thai red curry consisted of a fantastically fresh array of veggies: Zucchini (courgettes), red bell pepper (capsicum), carrot, broccoli and cauliflower, plus chicken, cooked in an absolutely brilliant sauce that perfectly melded the dish together without overpowering the subtler flavors of the vegetables.

The salad was equally superb: Chicken breast sublimely glazed with a honey-soy marinade, thinly sliced and served on top of fresh mixed greens, lavishly accented with avocado, tomato, red onion, and cashews. Again, the honey-mustard dressing was simply amazing: Complementary, not overpowering.

Although we were stuffed from eating every morsel possible shy of licking the plates clean and had not planned on ordering dessert, we sacrificed our stomachs in favor of our palates and ordered two desserts. If my stomach were more expandable, or if I actually had a hollow leg, I would have ordered one of each. I went with the chef's recommendation, (how could I not?): Banana caramel pie. "Heaven, I'm in Heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak..." I can't speak because my mouth is too full of, mmmmm, Heaven. Heavenly pie: The crust alone is worth a crusade, and I don't usually even like pie crust! And it gets better! This pastry crust holds just the right amount of perfectly creamy, not-too-sweet-just-sweet-enough caramel pie filling, and is topped with fresh sliced bananas and freshly whipped cream. But wait, there's more: This slice is dazzlingly beautiful, adorned with a mint sprig and framed with delightful drizzles of caramel and chocolate, served with a side of what is surely homemade vanilla ice cream.

So don't miss Fox Glacier - even if the weather's too rough to hike on the glacier, you can still eat at The Plateau.

Honestly, if you have the money, it's worth a trip to New Zealand just to eat here.

In all seriousness (for once),
Teej